AMMAN/BEIRUT ¨C Hundreds of Iran-backed Iraqi fighters crossed into Syria on Monday to help the government fight rebels who seized Aleppo last week, but Lebanon¡¯s Hezbollah has no plans for now to join them, according to sources.
Iran¡¯s constellation of allied regional militia groups, aided by Russian air power, has been integral to the success of pro-government forces in subduing rebels in Syria who rose up against President Bashar al-Assad in 2011. But that alliance faces a new test after last week¡¯s lightning advance by rebels in northwest Syria, with Russia focused on war in Ukraine and Hezbollah¡¯s leadership decimated by a war with Israel that ended in a ceasefire last week.
The rebel storm of Aleppo is the biggest success of anti-Assad fighters for years. Government forces had held complete control of Aleppo since capturing what was then Syria¡¯s largest city in a siege in 2016, one of the major turning points of a war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people. The head of Syria¡¯s main opposition group abroad, Hadi al-Bahra, told reporters the rebels were able to seize the city so quickly because Hezbollah and other Iran-backed groups were distracted by their conflict with Israel.
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